A STORY OF WARMTH, WIT AND THE SPIRIT OF A WORKING-CLASS COMMUNITY.

PERFECT for fans of TV's Call The Midwife and The Pursuit of Love - and readers of Nadine Dorries, Nancy Revell and Anne Baker will adore the Hopkins family!


READERS LOVE OUR KID!

***** 'After just a few pages gripped me like pliers' - AMAZON READER REVIEW
***** 'Beautifully written. Hard to put down. Many laughs, and touching moments' - AMAZON READER REVIEW
***** 'Give an insight into a Northern life of a different world written with a sense of hardship, sadness, humour and real emotion' - AMAZON READER REVIEW
***** 'I was howling with laughter one minute and in tears the next ... It's my favourite book'
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Billy Hopkins' Our Kid is a warm-hearted and nostalgic tale of a boy's life: from the 1920s Manchester slums, through tough times as an evacuee during World War II, to the challenges of the post-war world for a hard-up family.

'How wonderful to have a book like this... A glimpse of a lost reality' - Manchester Evening News

It was on a Sunday night in 1928 that Billy Hopkins made his first appearance. Billy's tenement home on the outskirts of Manchester would be considered a slum today, but he lived there happily with his large Catholic family, hatching money-making schemes with his many friends.

When war came, and the Luftwaffe dominated the night sky, Billy was evacuated to Blackpool. There he lived on a starvation diet while his own rations went to feed his landlady's children - 'I might as well be in Strangeways!'

But even the cruel blows that were to be dealt to the family on his return to Manchester would not destroy Billy's fighting spirit - or his sense of humour.

What readers are saying about Our Kid:

'Billy Hopkins is a masterful storyteller who draws you into his world of a working class household coping with, and surviving, the ups and downs of life'

'The characters are brilliant - I will never ever forget this book for as long as I live'

'The best read ever'

The much-loved tale of a northern lad during the Second World War

About the Author
Billy Hopkins (better known to his family and friends as Wilfred Hopkins) was born in Collyhurst in 1928 and attended schools in Manchester. Before going into higher education, he worked as a copy boy for the Manchester Guardian. He later studied at the Universities of London, Manchester and Leeds and was involved in school-teaching and teacher-training in Liverpool, Manchester, Salford and Glasgow. He also worked in African universities in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Billy Hopkins, author, husband and father of six, died aged 83 in 2012.

Reviews
How wonderful to have a book like this... A glimpse of a lost reality * Manchester Evening News *
This fictionalized biography is an easy page-turner * Historical Novels Review *
A celebration of the spirit of the times... witty and moving * Sentinel Sunday *
Heart-warming * Bolton Evening News *
A cracking yarn * Warrington Guardian *
Hopkins, like all best authors, writes in effortlessly simplistic prose and as such is a fascinating author * Manchester Evening News *
Not only is it a heart-rending story, it is a remarkable piece of social history * Lancashire Magazine *



Book Information
ISBN 9780755343188
Author Billy Hopkins
Format Paperback
Page Count 528
Imprint Headline Book Publishing
Publisher Headline Publishing Group
Weight(grams) 412g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 130mm * 36mm